Adolescence duo's upcoming film tipped to surprise viewers as Ashley Walters makes "beautiful" directorial debut

It's been quite the whirlwind year for Ashley Walters, with the former Top Boy star kicking off 2025 as one of the leads in Harlan Coben's Missing You and the revered Netflix hit Adolescence. That's just on top of balancing a music career and releasing a memoir this year.

But it looks as though the future continues to burn bright for Walters, with the star set to make his feature film directorial debut next year with Animol.

The upcoming film, which is written by Nick Love, has been described as a "raw and poignant coming-of-age story" that "highlights the power of humanity in the midst of adversity."

The film has been developed by Film4 in collaboration with Joi Productions, which is founded by Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor. Upon the release of Gharoro-Akpojotor's own directorial debut Dreamers, she sat down for an exclusive Pass the Mic interview and revealed some details of what we can all expect with Animol.

"That man doesn't sleep," Gharoro-Akpojotor laughs when reflecting on the year he's had. Animol officially kicked off production at the start of the year but since that announcement, Adolescence has obviously landed into the world to widespread critical acclaim and multiple award wins.

So, how has it been working with Walters on Animol, especially after the release and whirlwind of Adolescence?

"It's been great. I think the joy of it is actually, selfishly, it's meant more publicity for the film which is great because that means next year when it comes out, everyone gets to watch it or will go watch it," Gharoro-Akpojotor says.

"The good thing about Ashley doing all these things is that he's a professional and he's quite collaborative. He's very open to 'What's your idea?' and he'll take that, take this. I think that comes from when you work across multiple fields of music or as an actor, you learn to work with people. You learn to appreciate everyone's opinion.

"Working with him within that context, there's the hype of the film that we're all excited about and we can't wait to release it. But also, his schedule's been crazy."

She continues: "He has been like 'No guys, this is a priority for me' so making things work for us as and when because Adolescence, he went for the Emmys, now he's in Dune: Prophecy and had to shoot that. He shot a different film in summer time. But he's always making Animol a priority.

"It's been actually quite a wild time but I'm very excited, I can't wait for people to see it because it's so beautiful, it's very unexpected from him and I think it will really announce him as a voice that people should listen to visually, creatively. I don't think people are going to expect what the film is going to do."

While Walters has directed multiple episodes of A Thousand Blows, Animol does mark his first time directing a full length feature – and he'll be reunited with Adolescence co-star Stephen Graham in it.

The film itself draws on Walters's own experience, with Animol set to be "a searing portrayal of life within the confines of a Young Offenders’ Institution." Graham joins the supporting cast as a Welfare Officer tasked with supporting the young offenders during their incarceration while Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Dune: Part One) also stars alongside leads Tut Nyuot and Vladyslav Baliuk.

At the time of Animol entering production, Walters said in a statement regarding the film's inception: “Nick and I have worked together before and always wanted to create something bold—something that sparks conversation while delivering visual beauty. Animol is deeply personal to me.

"It explores the struggle of being your authentic self in a world that often pressures you to conform—one of life’s greatest challenges. At its heart, this is a story about survival and the safety found in true connection. It’s not about the ‘what’; it’s about the ‘why.’ I couldn’t be more excited to bring my debut feature to life with such an incredible team.”

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As of now, a release date for Animol has not yet been confirmed but Gharoro-Akpojotor serves as producer on the film along with Tom Hawkins under Joi Productions, which is a film and TV company focused on Black, queer and female-led stories.

Speaking about the wider UK film landscape in her Pass the Mic interview and the state of diversity right now, Gharoro-Akpojotor said: "I'm excited but also scared because it's a film that I hope a lot of people see.

"But also, it's a film that I want to challenge people, but the scary part is that you want people to engage in their love story and the immigration of it. I think it's the second Black lesbian film in cinemas in the UK. For me, that's a big deal just in terms of representation on so many levels. I'm excited about that but I'm also like 'are people going to go and watch it because of that?'. At the same time, I think people should watch it for that, if anything."

Dreamers is in cinemas from Friday 5th December and Animol will be coming soon.

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